Hold Me
by Distant Luver
Summary: One magical night with Ginny was all it took to make Harry realize... sometimes the answers to life are right in front of your nose all along. HarryGinny, RonHermione, one shot the squel to this story is now up with the name My Grown Up Christmas List


Hold Me A HP one-shot ~*~  
  
AN: hey everyone! This is my first, and last (for a while anyway), Harry Potter fic, so take it easy on me ~_^ . I usually don't use these pairings, but I thought it was a cute idea, and no one fit the part of the girl except Ginny. Well, enjoy!  
  
Time Period - after book 5, when Harry has just arrived at the burrow to stay with the Weasley's for the last few weeks of summer  
  
~*~  
  
"Ah, here we are!" Tonks called over her shoulder to Harry, who flew on his Firebolt closely behind her. "Just a bit further, Harry! We'll land over there!"  
  
"Right!" he called. Harry sighed and breathed in the fresh air. It was nice to be flying again - the Dursley's stuffy home wasn't fortunate enough to be filled with such clean air. Taking in one more lasting breath, Harry followed Tonks in landing upon the Weasley's front yard. As the two dismounted from their brooms, they could hear the cheerful voices erupting from the house. Things like "George! Ron! He's Here!", and "Oh, come now, Arthur, Dear, Harry's arrived! You too, girls!"  
  
And all at once, the house's inhabitants scrambled out of the door way to greet their friend. Ron arrived first, and enthusiastically shook hands with his best friend. "Good to see ya, mate!" Harry smiled. "I missed ya, Ron."  
  
"Harry!" Hermione called, chasing across the grass to hug Harry. "Oh, Harry, we missed you so much!" she let go of him to add as an after thought, "By the way, have you gotten the results of your O.W.L.'s yet?" Ron groaned. "Let him be, Hermione! He only just got here!" Harry shook it away, just glad to be back with them. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll fill you both in later." Harry had just finished his sentence when three fireworks set off from where Fred and George stood, spelling out the words "Welcome back, Harry!" in the sky. The twins ran up to all three of the baffled teens and both playfully punched Harry in the arm. "Welcome back, mate!" Fred said, chuckling at their amazement.  
  
"You like it, yeah? Blasting Banners. They're our latest project; first successful batch, this is." George explained, thrilled with their experiment's outcome. Ginny grunted as she made her way to kick George in the knee. "Shame on you, George! What if those sparks were to set the house on fire?!"  
  
"They WON'T!" said George irritably, shaking out his leg. Harry chuckled. "Well then. Seems your ankle's healed." Ginny smiled at Harry and nodded. "Yep, much better. How've you been?"  
  
"As fine as fine comes."  
  
"Hear, hear!" Fred and George commented loudly. "Hey, Tonks! What do you think of it? Impressive, eh?" Fred called in Tonks's direction, pointing to the Blasting Banners that were beginning to change color for the seventh time. Tonks raised an eyebrow. "You really want to know, Weasley? Well, for one thing, they're highly immature. . ."  
  
"Killjoy." George muttered under his breath.  
  
"Thank you, Tonks. Glad to see someone finally agrees with me." Mrs. Weasley said, dragging Tonks into the house with her arm around her shoulders. "Come inside now, you must be hungry."  
  
"I'm hungry, too, Mum!" Fred called, automatically assuming that he would be made lunch as well. "Frederick Weasley, if you want your lunch, get it yourself! For Merlin's sake, I'm not your cook!" Fred groaned. "We might as well get in there and eat."  
  
"Yeah, let's go!" George said, dragging Harry's trunk behind him. "Come on, mates! Lunch calls!"  
  
"Well I WOULD fancy a bit to eat. . ." Hermione said, looking at Harry and Ginny before dragging Ron along inside. "I HATE it when you do that!" Harry heard Ron moan. "Oh, will you give it a REST, Ron!"  
  
Ginny giggled. "Come along, Harry, it's lunchtime!" Harry nodded, running inside to the kitchen behind Ginny.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hmm. . ." Hermione pondered, looking over the results of Harry's O.W.L. exams. She paused for a second. "Harry, tell me you saw this!" she said, her voice filling with complete joy. Harry put his quill down and turned to meet Hermione's gaze. "Saw what?"  
  
"You've earned an 'Outstanding' in Potions!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Harry and Ron said at the same precise moment, racing to her side. "See? It's right here!" she said, pointing to his grade. Ron's eyes grew wide. "You've done it, Harry! You've really done it!"  
  
"No way. . . Someone's meddled with it." Harry said, in complete disbelief. Hermione laughed as she shook her head. "No one's touched it!" Harry smiled, looking at it proudly. A short knock came on the door, completely startling all three. "Harry? It's me, Tonks. Just wanted to wish you farewell." Harry got to his feet and opened the door. "Tonks, I've gotten an 'Outstanding' O.W.L. for Potions!" he said, swelling with pride. Tonks smiled and congratulated him with a hug. "I'm so proud of you, Harry! I'd best be on my way now, I promised I'd check in with Remus before I went home. You take care of yourself, though, alright? Maybe you can come stay the Christmas holiday with us." Harry nodded. "That'd be great!"  
  
"Good. See you then, Harry." Tonks said, waving to Ron and Hermione before closing the door. Hermione sighed, still looking over Harry's grades. "Seems you did quite well. . . you're well on your way to becoming an Auror, that's all I have to say."  
  
"Ron! Harry! Hermione! It's suppertime, you three!"  
  
"Coming, Mum!"  
  
~*~  
  
"So, Harry, dear, how have you been?" Mrs. Weasley asked softly as she passed the mashed potatoes to Ginny. "Fine." he said simply, taking a bite of chicken. Mrs. Weasley nodded. "That's good. Some time to heal is just what you needed." Harry paused a minute before nodding. "Yeah. . . just some time." Hermione and Ron sneaked in a peek at each other, trying not to let Harry notice. They both continued to eat without a word.  
  
Seeing that no one wanted to add to this topic, Ginny looked around before asking, "Harry, how would you like to practice Quidditch with us tomorrow? Fred and Ron and I were going to play for a bit, you should join us." Ron and Fred both acknowledged that it was a good idea. Having no reason to say no, Harry turned to Ginny and responded. "Sure, why not?" Ginny smiled and nodded, relieved that the previous topic had been lifted from everyone's minds. Harry made a mental note to thank her for her quick thinking later.  
  
The thought of Quidditch had brought upon the subject of the World Cup that they had all attended last year, and the rest of supper was filled with memories and laughter. Harry tried his hardest to appear totally indulged in the conversation, even though Mrs. Weasley's words hadn't left his mind yet. He sighed and made the food on his plate look as though it was at least half eaten before wiping his mouth and standing. "Please excuse me. . . I think I'm going to go take a walk outside." Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Of course, dear." Harry thanked her and left through the door, and silence once again fell over the table. Mrs. Weasley sighed. "The poor dear. . . losing Sirius like that."  
  
"You shouldn't have brought it up, Molly, really." Mr. Weasley warned. "He probably doesn't want to talk about it yet."  
  
"It wasn't intentional." she assured him. "It just. . .slipped." Hermione nodded. "Yeah, well, he's been reluctant to talk about him. Makes me worry about him." she said, piping up for the first time throughout the whole dinner. Ron grunted in agreement. "Hm." Ginny said, nodding. "Mum? May I be excused?" her mother nodded and she left the house, just as Harry had. Ron watched her. "What's she doing?"Ron whispered to Hermione. "Just checking on him, that's all." Hermione replied just as quietly. "Don't worry about it." she said, giving him a warm smile. Ron smiled weakly and returned to his food.  
  
"Harry?" Ginny called, catching up to him. Harry paused for a second and turned. "What's up?" Ginny shrugged her shoulders shyly. "Nothing. . . just wanted to see if you were ok." Harry smiled weakly. "Yeah. . . I'll be fine." Ginny nodded and looked at her feet. They both stood in silence for a minute. " Er. . . would you. . . like to walk with me a bit?" Harry asked.  
  
"Sure." she said, and they started to walk.  
  
"So. . . how's your Quidditch training coming along?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. . . I'm a bit rusty. It's hard to concentrate on catching the Snitch from too great of a height." Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's hard for me, as well. Flying is just so much fun, its hard to focus yourself."  
  
"I know. . . It's just so beautiful. I love flying. I would fly my whole life, if I could." Harry smiled. "You would, yeah? I would, too. Flying's amazing." Ginny turned her head to look at him. "I don't know how you survived being banned from your broom. . . I would've killed myself." Harry shuddered from the memory. "It was horrible. Absolutely horrible." He paused. "I'd be happy to teach you a bit at practice tomorrow, if you'd like me to." Ginny's eyes lit up, catching his gaze, almost enveloping him in bliss. "Oh, Harry! Would you?" He nodded dumbly. She smiled. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate this!" Harry smiled. "No problem, Ginny. By the way, thank you for. . . you know, dinner." Ginny nodded solemnly. "Don't worry about it. I didn't want you to be upset, that's all." Harry chose not to respond to that.  
  
Ginny stopped walking for a moment, causing Harry to turn. "Ginny?" He crept a step closer to see what was wrong, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw tears in her eyes. She bit her lip, looking into his face. "Harry, I know you don't want to talk about it, and that's alright. Really, it is. I just wanted to say. . ." She paused as a tear trickled down her cheek. "To say that. . . I'm sorry about Sirius."  
  
Harry stood there, as if Ginny had used a stunning curse on him. He had no idea how he was to react to that. Ginny's tears continued to flow, and for the first time, Harry realized just how pretty she really was. He would've given anything to make those tears stop flowing. "Ginny. . . please. . . don't cry. . ." he whispered, sounding almost anguished. She shook her head, as if to tell him she was trying, but it was too hard. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed bitterly into her palms, causing Harry's heart to droop. "Ginny. . . Ginny, no. . . Don't. . ." Harry hesitated, thinking of something to do. Just a moment ago, Ginny had put him in such a good mood, but now, she was crying like bloody hell. Battling what to do inside his head, he gently tried to take her hands away from her face and shushed her, which seemed to be working. *Good, Harry.* he thought. *Keep it up. She's calming down now.*  
  
Harry had completely forgotten he was still holding Ginny's hands by her wrists, but remembered as soon as she moved her hands so they fit perfectly in his grasp. He halted for a moment, deciding to let her hold his hands for now. Anything to make her stop crying. And he thought Cho's crying drove him crazy; Ginny wasn't even crying an eighth of how much Cho cried, and it was driving him to insanity. And slowly, but steadily nonetheless, Ginny's mewling came to an end. Harry smiled, chasing her feeble whimpering away. "It's alright, Ginny. Thank you for your condolences, but there's no need for you to cry. I don't want you to be upset like that." he said softly. He hesitated, but raised his sleeve to her face to wipe her tears. She delicately closed her eyes and let him wipe his sleeve along her cheeks, feeling his warm hands from under the cloth. He stopped as she opened her eyes again, and she let a soft, weak smile fold over her lips. She almost laughed as she let out a breath. "I'm sorry." she said softly. Harry smiled. He looked around before coming close to her and whispering "Follow me. I want to show you something." And with that, he took her hand, taking her with him to the absolute end of the burrow.  
  
Ginny looked at him skeptically. "There's nothing here." Harry shook his head. "No," he corrected. "There's nothing here YET." he took his hand from her grasp and took two more steps. He raised his head to the skies and whistled in a mystical, almost eerie voice. Ginny watched, enchanted by it's sweet sound. And all of a sudden, she could hear the distant cries of a horse, coming closer and closer. Harry smiled as he saw a thestral coming out of the clouds, landing right in front of him. He petted her mane fondly. "Hi, lovey. How are you?" he cooed. The thestral whinnied in response. Ginny crept closer cautiously. "Harry. . . what is it?"  
  
"A thestral. . . the one that took me to the Ministry last June. Hagrid's given her to me." Harry turned to Ginny and guided her hand over the thestral's silky smooth mane. She smiled as she felt the steed's warm body under her hair. "I know you can't see her, but she's beautiful. I think she likes you."  
  
"I think I like her, too." Ginny said fondly, gently petting her. "What's her name?"  
  
"Raven." Harry replied. "Raven Black." Ginny paused. "Black?" Harry smiled. "Well, can't let the Black family die out, now can we? Even if they're just a herd of thestrals." Ginny giggled. "What is it?" he asked. "Oh nothing. . . you just think like a child." she said, her voice not having the tiniest hint of sarcasm in it. "Would you. . . like to go for a ride?" Ginny smiled as she looked at him. "I'd love that." Harry nodded and saddled himself on Raven, helping Ginny up in front of him. The contact startled both for a moment, but it subsided before they could even bring up the topic. Harry took Ginny's hands and worked her fingers into Raven's mane. "Hold on tightly, now." he whispered. "Just a slow ride, lovey. No rush." Harry spoke to the great stallion. And with that, it's great wings unfolded, and it took off into the air.  
  
At first, Ginny closed her eyes in fright; it wasn't the fact that they were flying, it was the fact that she couldn't see what they were sitting on. Harry tapped her slightly and told her, "Open your eyes." she did so, and when she looked down, her eyes grew in astonishment. The view was absolutely beautiful. It looked as if it was a painting. "It's beautiful." she whispered. Harry nodded, patting Raven's mane encouragingly. The whole ride made Harry really think; maybe he had been wrong to say that Ginny was only Ron's little sister to him, and nothing more. For the first time, it seemed, he opened his eyes to the truth; he was really falling for her. And it was happening faster than he ever could have imagined. Surprisingly, he enjoyed every moment of it.  
  
"Look there, Harry!" Ginny said, her voice filled with magical delight. "Isn't it wonderful?" Harry looked down to see a small lake, that had the clearest water he had ever seen. It looked magnificent. "Raven, land down there for a bit, yeah?" his noble steed whinnied in agreement, and gracefully made her landing beside the lake. She allowed Harry to get off and help Ginny down before lying down next to the lake, closing her brilliant blue eyes. Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny had removed their shoes and placed their feet in the water, feeling the passing fish tickle their feet. Ginny stared out over the lake, her eyes gleaming. "Pretty, isn't it?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded slowly. She sighed and looked at Harry, her eyes still gleaming. They continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before Ginny lowered her eyes and bit her lip. Harry continued to stare at her, knowing she was going to speak soon.  
  
"Harry, there's something that I want to talk to you about." she said, searching for the words to say. "Like what?" he asked. "Well. . . Harry. . . There's something that I've been keeping from you for a long time. . . and you could probably have noticed it a few times. . . a lot of times, more like. . . it's just that. . . well. . . what I'm trying to say is. . ." she paused. Harry didn't dare mutter a word. "You see, Harry. . . I like you. A lot. In fact, I'm quite fond of you." At this point, neither one of them could stop blushing. Raven's ears had pricked up in interest, listening closely. "And maybe. . . in some odd, twisted way. . . you might even say that. . . I love you." Ginny had now fully averted her eyes from Harry, convinced that she had made an awful mistake. Harry didn't love her. Why would he?  
  
Both sat in complete muteness for what seemed hours before Harry managed to stutter, "Really?" Ginny's eyes automatically snapped to his eyes. He was really being sincere. She cleared her throat before whispering in her shakiest voice, "Really." Ginny could hear Harry's breath release from his body once she acknowledged this. He stumbled on the words for a minute. "Ginny, I. . . well I . . . ya know. . . that. . . that thing. . . and I . . . well. . . yeah. . . um. . ." he stopped so his face could carry out the task of turning ten different shades of red. "I. . . uh. . . you. . . ya know, . . . fancy you. . . fun to be with, you are. . . Always there. . ." Ginny smiled and looked into Harry's eyes, stopping him from speaking. It was alright. She knew what he wanted to say. She knew every word.  
  
He loved her. He really did.  
  
Ginny's smile couldn't grow any larger. Slowly, she drew herself into him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Hold me, Harry." she whispered, half demand and half request. Harry smiled weakly, and let his arms completely enclose her to him. She sighed, letting herself melt into him. Uttering a sigh, Harry relaxed himself with her, holding her close. He was on Cloud 9 at the moment, and he certainly wasn't about to leave. Who'd have thought that the answer he had been looking for was right under his nose all along?  
  
~*~  
  
"Thank you, Raven, dear. . . you rest well tonight." Ginny said affectionately, petting the thestral one last time for the night. "Ditto, lovey. I'll have a treat for you tomorrow, I promise you. And you say hello to Hagrid, as well." the thestral lifted its head to nuzzle Harry's neck before spreading her wings to fly, and Harry held Ginny back as the great horse took flight.  
  
"Magnificent creature." Ginny complemented serenely. "Indeed she is." Harry said. He smiled lovingly at her, taking her hand in his grasp. "Come along, now. It's late." Ginny lay her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the back door to the house.  
  
Ginny stopped him as he was about to open the door. He looked at her. "What is it?" Ginny sighed. "Oh, nothing. . . it's just that this night seemed so perfect. . . I don't ever want it to end." Harry smiled. "If I could have one wish, I would stay like this forever." he said softly in her ear.  
  
"Aha! There they are! Holy. . . Bloody hell! Have a look at this, mate!" Fred called to George, who scurried across the room to look outside the window. Ron and Hermione followed close behind. George grinned. "See that, mate? How many times have I told you he's fallen for her?" he boasted. Hermione giggled. "I had a feeling. . . I wasn't entirely sure though, mind you. . ."  
  
Ron grunted. "Me own best mate." he shook his head before leaving the window. "Well, he better keep his head decent with my sister, that's all I have to say." Hermione laughed and playfully latched on to Ron's arm. "Are you trying to tell us you don't even trust HARRY with your sister?" Ron looked at Hermione, surprised by her words. "What makes you think I give a ruddy damn who it is? She's my sister, after all."  
  
"Then how come I don't feel so over protective of her?" George asked, not really listening for the answer. Ron groaned. "Alright, I trust him, but he better be good to her." Hermione shook her head. "Ron, what makes you think Harry doesn't trust you with me?"  
  
"Harry's not your brother!" he retorted. "He's close enough to it, love, you know it as well as I do."  
  
"Have you two told him yet?" Fred asked. They shook their heads. "Figures."  
  
"Blimey!" George whispered. "Look. . . she's kissing him. . ." All four rushed to the window to see the new couple's first kiss. Ginny's arms were delicately placed around Harry's neck, who was resting his hands in the curves of her waist. It lasted for a few seconds longer before they drew their lips away from the other, staring deeply into each other's eyes. Hermione's eyes watered with joy. "Look, Ron. . . isn't it sweet?" she asked him lovingly. He sighed and smiled at her, pushing her hair back to kiss her temple. Fred snorted. "Lovebirds."  
  
"Hear, hear." George added.  
  
"Let me know when you two manage to get a girl, mates. Then you can say what you like." Ron said sarcastically. George raised an eyebrow. "Did ya hear that, Fred? Little Ronald's acting big. How cute." the twins burst out into laughter.  
  
Meanwhile, outside on the porch, Ginny and Harry shared one last kiss before going inside for the night.  
  
~*~ well, hope ya liked it!! Plz review!! ~suki 


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